Match Overview
The intriguing clash between Argentina and Austria at Dallas Stadium on Monday will be a stage for Lionel Messi to set a new record in the FIFA World Cup. After scoring his 61st career hat-trick (50 for club, 11 for Argentina) in the 3-0 victory over Algeria, Messi now needs just one more goal to surpass Miroslav Klose (16 goals) as the all-time leading scorer in the competition.
Should Messi find the net against Austria, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner would become the third player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive matches. Just Fontaine of France and Jairzinho of Brazil achieved this feat in single tournaments in the 1958 and 1970 editions, respectively, but Messi's streak began with Argentina's triumph in Qatar four years ago.
Team Analysis
Argentina
At 38 years old, Messi's influence on the Argentina squad shows no signs of waning. In the match against Algeria, he was directly involved in eight of Argentina's 10 attempts (6 shots, 2 chances created). Head coach Lionel Scaloni is expected to make several changes, including a potential switch from Gonzalo Montiel to Nahuel Molina, who has recovered from a minor muscle injury.
Argentina's defense also demonstrated a strong performance, ensuring Algeria did not register a single shot on target. If they defeat Austria and Jordan fails to beat Algeria, Argentina will advance as group winners and face the runner-up from Group H.
Austria
Austria could potentially advance as group winners if they secure a victory, but they will need to improve their performance after a hard-fought 3-1 win against Jordan. Romano Schmid's opening goal was cancelled out by Ali Olwan, and Austria only regained the lead in the 76th minute through an own goal by Yazan Al Arab. A late penalty from Marko Arnautovic made the scoreline more convincing than the performance suggested.
However, Austria is currently on a four-match winning streak across all competitions and has won 10 of their last 12 games, with one draw and one loss. If they win against Argentina, it would be the first time since 1982 that they have started a World Cup with two consecutive victories.
There are concerns regarding the fitness of David Alaba, Stefan Posch (who had to wear a special mask after a fractured jaw against Jordan), and Alessandro Schöpf. All three trained separately and are in a race against time to be fit. Marcel Sabitzer is expected to remain in the starting lineup and will earn his 100th cap, equalling Aleksandar Dragovic for fourth place on Austria's all-time appearance list.
Match Statistics
According to Opta, 25,000 match simulations give Argentina a 65.4% probability of winning. The chance of a draw stands at 20.7%, while Austria has only a 13.9% chance of victory.
Argentina could become the seventh nation to score at least three goals in four consecutive World Cup matches, and the first since Spain between 1998 and 2002. Seven of Austria's last 10 World Cup goals have come from set-pieces (3 corners, 2 penalties, 1 free-kick, 1 direct free-kick).
Head-to-Head History
The two teams have met infrequently, with only friendly matches prior to this encounter. The last meeting was 36 years ago in Vienna, ending in a 1-1 draw. In 1980, Argentina won 5-1 in Vienna, a match that saw Diego Maradona's only international hat-trick.
Argentina has lost only one of their last eight World Cup group stage matches against European opposition (W4 D3), with Croatia defeating them 3-0 in 2018. Austria, on the other hand, struggles against South American teams; since a 1-0 win over Chile in the 1982 World Cup, they have won only one of their 10 matches against such opposition (D4 L5), with that victory coming against Uruguay in a friendly in November 2017.
Prediction
Argentina is expected to secure their second consecutive victory based on Opta's analysis. With Messi in top form and strong support from other players like Lautaro Martinez and Alexis Mac Allister, Argentina is the favourite to win.
Squads
Argentina: Juan Musso, Gerónimo Rulli, Emiliano Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Lisandro Martínez, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Facundo Medina, Nahuel Molina, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Valentín Barco, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Thiago Almada, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández, Julián Alvarez, Lionel Messi, Nico González, Giuliano Simeone, Nico Paz, José Manuel López, Lautaro Martínez.
Austria: Alexander Schlager, Florian Wiegele, Patrick Pentz, David Affengruber, Kevin Danso, Stefan Posch, David Alaba, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Alexander Prass, Marco Friedl, Michael Svoboda, Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald, Marcel Sabitzer, Florian Grillitsch, Carney Chukwuemeka, Romano Schmid, Dejan Ljubicic, Konrad Laimer, Patrick Wimmer, Paul Wanner, Alessandro Schöpf, Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch, Sasa Kalajdzic.
Conclusion
This match promises an exciting spectacle with Messi chasing a record and Austria looking to upset the reigning champions. However, based on recent form and statistical analysis, Argentina is more likely to emerge victorious.
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*Original source: [theanalyst.com](https://theanalyst.com/articles/argentina-vs-austria-prediction-world-cup-2026-match-preview)*